Mobile handsets, such as cellular phones, are increasingly popular. Many cellular phones include image capture functionality. Generally, the image capture functionality is based upon charged coupled device (“CCD”) camera technology. Optical lenses included in cellular phones are generally static lenses, which may or may not include some magnification properties. Software is then used to manipulate a captured image and store or post process captured image data. A Field of View (“FOV”) is generally limited by the image lens and the flat surface of the CCD.
The use of optical arrangements to facilitate panoramic viewing have been known to use a variety of configurations, including catadioptric lenses and purely refractive lenses, of various shapes and sizes. Generally, a single panoramic block is configured such that light entering it undergoes a two refractions and two reflections before exiting. Both reflective surfaces are paraboloidal in shape and achieve high quality imagery. Each of these surfaces can be replaced with a surface having a radius of the “best fit” sphere for an acceptable image quality of a still image.
However, utilization of paraboloidal reflective surfaces in combination with a telecentric exit pupil may compromise a resulting performance of a design of an overall system rather than enhance it. Some optical configurations work better with spherical reflective surfaces as compared with paraboloidal reflective surfaces. Further, previously known systems have not addressed the use of a means to transfer an intermediate image onto a camera lens
Accordingly, there is still a need for a lens or optical block that can be coupled with a camera lens, such as, for example, a cellular device. The cellular device may include for example, a smartphone, and android, an iPhone™, an iPad™, and a tablet computer. In some embodiments, the present invention provides high resolution panoramic imaging that achieves or nearly achieves a diffraction limited system.